Luke Bresette died and his mother and two brothers were hurt when the 300-pound arrival-departure sign that had been mounted to a wall gave away.

The collapse happened in a portion of the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport that had just opened earlier this month. According to reports from Alabama, Heather Bresette and the boys were waiting beside the monitor while her husband went to retrieve their bags. The family had been on a spring break trip to the Florida Panhandle.

Heather Bresette suffered multiple injuries to her pelvis and both legs. She had a second round of surgery on Sunday and doctors said they were feeling positive about it.

Family members said they were slowly bringing her to an awake status so she could function on her own, but she won't be able to walk for several months.

Sam Bresette,8, is also still in a hospital with a broken leg, broken nose and a concussion. His brother Tyler Bresette, 5, suffered a concussion and was released from a hospital over the weekend.

The family said they did not plan to make funeral arrangements until Heather Bresette was awake and had been told what happened.

Alex Bresette, Luke Bresette's uncle, said he knows that his sister-in-law has what it takes to get through this horrific ordeal.

"She's a strong woman, she's going to pull through this," he said. "Heather is the backbone of their family."

He said Luke was a tremendous kid who had a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"We're never going to forget him. All of our hearts will never heal, but Luke's time on this earth was cut way too short," he said. "(He was) just a really well-rounded, warm, loving human being. He's going to be missed on so many levels."

Luke Bresette was a fifth-grader at St. Thomas More Catholic School. Officials there had counselors on hand to help students on their first day back to class on Monday.

"I don't think any of us really understand it," said the Rev. Don Farner of St. Thomas More Catholic School. "It doesn't make any sense on any logical level at all."

He said Luke Bresette loved sports and spent a lot of time at school with his best friend and his cousin. He said Luke was full of energy and memories of that energy put smiles on people's faces at the school.

"I think the teachers would say he had a lot of spirit and that he was pretty rambunctious," Farner said. "Sometimes the parents would say, 'You've got our most energetic child,' and almost apologetically."

People passing through Kansas City International Airport on Monday said they had heard the news.

"It's heartbreaking. You never want that to happen to you," said Texas resident Rheanna Queen. "It just makes you more cautious of your surroundings, I guess. But even then you would never think that would happen. It's horrible."

Travelers at Kansas City International Airport won't find large display boards. The airport uses 50-pound monitors that are securely mounted with brackets to display arrival and departure information.

Passengers said they're planning to keep their distance anyway.

Neither the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth airport nor Brasfield-Gorrie, the construction company that worked on the airport renovations, would comment on what could have caused the sign to fall. Birmingham's mayor has promised to conduct a full investigation.

Brasfield-Gorrie issued a statement about the Bresette family:

"We are deeply sorrowful that a life was lost, and we are prayerful that the injured individuals will recover," the company said.